Plan Your Family's Summer Cruise

The summer family vacation is a great tradition, and what better way to enjoy time with your family than to cruise together? Cruises bring a wonderful convenience and ease to your summer vacation. You only have to pack and unpack once, while the ship and crew do all the work of getting your family from one delightful port call to another. Delicious food, cooked and served by professionals, is available 24 hours a day, and entertainment to please every family member is right there on the ship.

The Caribbean is one of the world’s most popular cruise destinations all year long. During the summer, the islands are at their peak of lush beauty, and warmth of the sun is balanced by cooling ocean breezes. This is a perfect destination for families that love spending time on the beach or playing in the water.

Alaska is a cruise destination that’s available only during the summertime. Families that like a touch of adventure in their vacations will delight in the glaciers, fjords, whales and other wildlife of the Alaskan coast. Alaska is also a perfect destination for a "cruisetour” – a vacation that combines a cruise with a land-based tour, such as a visit to magnificent Denali National Park.

Another cruise destination that is limited to the warmer months is New England and southeast Canada. Until recently, these cruises were mainly available in the fall, when leaf colors peak. However, this area offers spectacular scenery and fascinating history even when the leaves are green, and summer cruises are becoming more numerous. On cruise departing from Boston or New York, you might visit Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

If you family is ready to journey farther from home, summer is a wonderful time to explore Europe by cruising the Mediterranean. Many different itineraries link the sunny cities along the Mediterranean coast, including Barcelona, Nice, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Venice, Dubrovnik and Athens. Some ships call on the islands of Malta, Sicily or Majorca, or even on North African cities like Algiers.

If you’re ready to book a summer cruise, a travel agent that specializes in cruising can help you find some excellent values right now. Keep in mind that the majority of cruisers book their trip more than six months in advance. If you need to explore some options, talk with a professional cruise consultant at Cruise Holidays soon to secure the best prices, departure dates and staterooms available for the busy summer cruise season.